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wet behind the ears

Inexperienced; not seasoned; new; just beginning.

Etymology:

  • c. 1850, Pennsylvania, calque from German feucht hinter den Ohren.
  • From the drying of amniotic fluid on a baby after birth, specifically a new-born farm animal, which last dries behind the ears. German variants also borrowed.
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He made a lot of mistakes, back when he was still wet behind the ears.

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Submitted on September 01, 2009

Additional definitions for 'wet behind the ears':

Wet Behind the EarsYoung, not experienced, immature
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märkä korvien takana

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Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to wet behind the ears

Spock earswet dreamwalls have earswet blanketwet throughwet firecrackerrode hard and put away wetwet the bedwet planketwet one's beakWet Blanketstay behindsoaking wetwet the bed

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    "wet behind the ears." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/wet-behind-the-ears_7935>.

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